Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive

The Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive (14 January-1 March 1944) was a strategic offensive during World War II. The Red Army's Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts, along with a part of the 2nd Baltic Front, launched an assault on the German Army Group North with the goal of lifting the Siege of Leningrad. The Germans were driven from the region by the offensive, and the 900-day siege of Leningrad was finally lifted.

History
In January 1944, the Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts fell on the German 18th Army. The army's commander, General Georg Lindemann, was forced to give ground, in spite of the customary orders to the contrary, leaving the garrison of Novgorod, 90 miles to the south, cut off. Its troops had to abandon the seriously wounded and fight their way out under cover of darkness. By 27 January, the railroad between Moscow and Leningrad had been clared and the German Army Group North had been pushed back to the esatern shore of Lake Chuskoye, 160 miles to the southwest. The Germans now established themsevles along a line where Leningrad lay beyond the range of their artillery. As the 900-day siege of the city ended, the skies were streaked with red, white, and blue rockets of celebration. Leningrad was free, but at a terrible cost.